Nothing like the holidays (Freddy Rodríguez)

(Amazon UK link)

In the last couple of years we’ve watched four or five Christmas films during December, so in the summer when I was in the UK I decided to order a few more, inexpensively, from World of Books online. One of them - which seemed to be well recommended - was ‘Nothing like the holidays’. Billed as a romance/comedy/drama, it sounded like a good one for a relaxing evening, so we watched it last night.

The story features a Puerto Rican family who live in Chicago, in the United States, and who are gathering for Christmas. Alfred Molina is excellent as the father, Edy, married to Anna (Elizabeth Pena). They are particularly excited to see their son Jesse (Freddie Rodriguez) returning from a lengthy stint in the army, based in Iraq. He has been injured and is quite traumatised by some of what he’s seen, and it’s hard for them to know how to deal with him.  There’s a huge ‘welcome home’ banner which we see right at the start of the film, then the action changes to Jesse at the airport, then met by some friends. 

Jesse’s brother Mauricio (John Leguizamo) is a suited businessman, married to the highflying Sarah (Debra Messing). She’s the only non-Puerto Rican in the family, and is still adjusting to the culture. She’s had some clashes with Anna, but she’s trying hard: she’s even learned some Spanish. But she and John have no desire to start a family any time soon, and she finds the pressure from Edy and Anna very stressful. 

Then there’s their sister Roxanna (Vanessa Ferlito). She works in Hollywood, but is struggling to find any work, although her family are convinced she’s a huge star, or about to become one. 

As far as I could work out, all the other characters who eat with the family, or hang out with them, are friends - or possibly cousins. It was hard to tell, and perhaps it doesn’t matter. The picture is of a huge, extended family who sit down to a huge meal… and then Anna announces something, almost casually, that shatters any hint of Christmas spirit or community. 

It’s possible that, if we were familiar with Puerto Rican culture, we would have found the film amusing in places, although most of the themes are sad - they include illness and relationship breakups as well as the horrors of war. There’s also a theme of revenge which didn’t entirely make sense and didn’t seem to be related to the rest of the film. There are some scenes of different men in the family attempting in vain to cut down a large tree, but even that is more poignant than amusing, and when someone takes a chainsaw without knowing how to operate it, I looked away, worried that disaster would happen.

The acting is mostly good - I found the main family members believable, their tensions and simultaneous affection quite realistic. But the storyline was really quite depressing - some resolution is reached in some of the issues, but there’s no ‘happy ever after’. Christmas is the setting, and there’s a scene of carol singing in the streets, but it’s not really a Christmas film. I’m not sure what it is, or who it would appeal to. It’s not suitable for children despite the PG rating. There’s a fair amount of bad language, some violence, several sexual references, and some tense scenes too. 

There were places when I found the accents too strong to understand. There were English subtitles for important parts that were in Spanish; I could have done with subtitles for some of the conversations which were in English too! 

It’s not (in my opinion) humorous, despite what the blurb says on the back, and it’s not really heart-warming. I think I’d have liked it better if it had been billed as a tense family drama covering serious issues; that way, the lighter scenes would have provided some light relief, but we wouldn’t have been expecting any humour, so wouldn’t have been disappointed.

We did watch to the end, but think it’s unlikely we’ll choose to watch it again. I don’t really recommend it. Still, it’s highly reviewed on many sites, so don’t necessarily follow my opinion. 

Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews

As Time Goes By (Series 4)

(Amazon UK link)

We started watching ‘As Time Goes By’ in March this year. We had DVDs of the first two seasons and liked them so much that, when I was in the UK in the Summer, I ordered the third and fourth season as well. We watched the third season in the autumn, and have just finished watching Series Four. Geoffrey Palmer and Judi Dench star as Lionel and Jean, separated by the Korean war, and reunited after thirty years. 

The first few episodes of Season Four revolve around Lionel writing the script for a mini-series commissioned by some people in the United States. He’s finding it very difficult to write about poignant memories, and is not helped by the loquacious though well-meaning Mrs Flack (Vivienne Martin). The background to these first few episodes also involves Lionel attempting to get used to living with Jean in a household that not only includes her twice-divorced daughter Judy (Moira Brooker) but Jean’s secretary Sandy (Jenny Funnell), who has broken up with her boyfriend.

Another episode involves Jean’s sister-in-law Penny (Moyra Fraser) being convinced her husband is having an affair, when it turns out that he’s trying to arrange a surprise party. Meanwhile Lionel and Jean decide that they really should get married, and Lionel’s father Rocky (Frank Middlemass) tells them he is giving them his house in the country. 

Later episodes - there are ten in the series - involve wedding jitters, the wedding itself, the end of the honeymoon, filming for the mini-series, and a discussion about whether or not Jean is going to retire. 

We watched one episode per week, and felt quite involved in the storylines which managed to offer something new each time. The acting is excellent, the stories well-done, with no bad language, no nudity, no violence… the humour is in the script and the timing, and the chemistry of the actors with each other. There’s much that’s poignant as well as several places where we smiled. We even laughed aloud a few times. 

I hope we’ll watch this series again in a few years, but - a tad perversely, perhaps - we’ve decided not to get hold of the later series. Apparently there were nine seasons of ‘As Time Goes By’, although the later ones had just six or seven episodes in each. I did glance at the storylines, summarised online elsewhere, and they looked rather less appealing, with Jean and Lionel starting to show signs of age, and the younger generation having trouble with their love-lives. I think it’s better to stop while we’re still enjoying the series, now that Jean and Lionel are happily married, and have made some decisions about where to live, and what they will be doing.

You probably have to be at least in your fifties to appreciate this series fully. I did see a few episodes on TV when I was much younger, and liked them, which is why I acquired the first two seasons on DVD when they were available. But we didn't watch them until this year. It was much better being around the ages of Jean and Lionel. 

It’s an undemanding show, with not a great deal happening and just a handful of characters who recur in most episodes. It doesn’t have the rather brash humour of some American sitcoms, nor any slapstick or canned laughter. It’s gentle, amusing, and heartwarming and I thoroughly recommend it if clean 1990s  UK sitcoms appeal to you.

Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey (Luke Ward-Wilkinson)

(Amazon UK link)

In the UK early in December last year, I was browsing in a charity shop when I found some Christmas films I had never heard of, costing one pound each. I checked the blurb on the back, and chose three of them. One of them was ‘The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey’, which we didn’t watch a year ago so waited until the 2023 Christmas season. We finally watched it last night. 

What a wonderful, heartwarming film it is. It’s set over 100 years ago, in the United States, so we were surprised to learn, seeing the credits at the end, that it was made in the UK. Moreover, the majority of the actors were British rather than American, which probably explains why some of the accents didn’t feel entirely authentic. 

But that’s my only (very minor) gripe with the film, which is beautifully portrayed, a mixture of poignancy and redemption, with a little low-key humour here and there in some of the interactions. The undoubted star of the film is a ten-year-old boy called Thomas (Luke Ward-Wilkinson) who lives in a city (I don’t think it’s stated which city) with his family who are evidently quite well off. His father has to go away to fight in World War I but writes a letter to Thomas, and promises to be back soon.

Then tragedy strikes; Thomas and his mother Susan (Joely Richardson) have to move to the country to stay with her sister Joan (Lia Williams). Thomas is not only heartbroken about his father, he must leave behind his grandfather (Ronald Pickup) and their beloved housekeeper Mrs Hickey (Jenny O’Hara). And almost worst of all, he loses his father’s carved Nativity set, which the two of them set up together every Christmas. 

Thomas is not happy in the country; one of the local boys taunts him, and he doesn’t much like having to feed chickens. He’s also a bit scared of a reclusive hermit living in a shack in the forest, a man called Jonathan Toomey (Tom Beringer). Mr Toomey is a skilled wood carver, but he arrived there out of the blue and nobody knows anything about him. So terrible rumours have arisen. But Thomas’s mother sees some of his work, and wonders if he might possibly carve a new Nativity set…

The scenery, the conversation and the sets are all beautifully done. The pace is excellent, and young Thomas is a typical grieving child, sometimes almost in tears, sometimes behaving like the lively young boy he used to be. He’s loyal, likeable and very confused. I could believe in him entirely, and empathised with his pain, and his longings, and his envy when other children’s fathers return from the war. 

Mr Toomey is also a very believable person; we, as viewers, know what has caused his hermit-like behaviour and dour attitude, as we see him imagining the past at the start of the film. His gradual thawing as he relates to Thomas and his mother works well, but the directors didn’t make the mistake of turning this into a romance or a ‘happy ever after’ story. There’s a positive outcome at the end, but the future is inconclusive. 

It’s hard to express how much we liked and appreciated this beautifully made film, one of the best Christmas films we’ve seen, and one which we certainly hope to see again in a few years. It’s suitable for all the family. The rating is U, which reflects the lack of anything ‘adult’.  There is one minor fight shown (but without any gore), and the initial theme is of war and tragedy, but there’s no bad language, nothing remotely sexual, and nothing really disturbing. 

Very highly recommended if you want an engrossing and moving Christmas film.  

Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews

A Christmas Carol goes wrong

(Amazon UK link)

For Christmas last year, one of our sons gave us two DVDs we had not previously heard of, in the ‘Goes Wrong’ series. We watched ‘Peter Pan goes wrong’ back in March, and thought it very amusing, if a tad silly in places, and with some scenes that I didn’t like so much. But we decided to keep the other one, ‘A Christmas Carol goes wrong’ for the Christmas season.

Last night we watched it - and were surprised to learn that it’s less than an hour long. These were made for TV rather than as films, so perhaps it’s not so unexpected. I had more of an idea what might happen, after recalling the events of the ‘Peter Pan’ film, so we were expecting some light-hearted chaos.

We were not disappointed. The opening scenes are of the classic Dickens story as expected, but then things start to go wrong. I’m not sure I entirely followed what was happening, as I wasn’t familiar with any of the cast of the (supposed) amateur dramatic society who are performing the play for television. Derek Jacobi appears both as himself and as Scrooge, but Scrooge is also - and mainly - played by someone called Chris in the company (Henry Shields). In addition, there’s an ongoing attempt to injure him by the man known as Robert (Henry Lewis) who would also like to play Scrooge.

The play goes ahead, complete with the various ghosts. Backstage crew appear now and then, and just about everything that might go wrong does. It’s cleverly done, with slick choreography and there were places where we chuckled aloud. I thought the most amusing lines, however, were those by Dennis (Jonathan Sayer) who is playing Bob Cratchett. He is so nervous about forgetting his lines that he has them printed in all kinds of random places, which leads to some very humorous asides.

Even though I know the story of ‘A Christmas Carol’ well, it was sometimes hard to keep track of what was going on. It didn’t help that several of the actors and actresses played multiple roles; in particular Charlie Russell as Sandra, who is not just Mrs Cratchett, but several other women’s parts too. I have a hard enough time keeping track of people when they all look different…

It becomes even more surreal towards the end when the entire cast venture out into London, into a supermarket so that Scrooge, now reformed, can buy something for the Cratchetts’ Christmas lunch. It all gets a bit silly then, particularly when they dance around half-singing bits of Christmas carols, and then can’t get back into the BBC building. If I tried to think about what was going on, I got lost. It probably didn’t matter. 

Overall, it was good fun, cleverly done, and with plenty that we found funny, mixed in with the silliness. We watched the ‘extra’ - some commentary from three of the cast members, explaining the background to some of the story, which did take the whole to over an hour.

Recommended in a low-key way if you like this kind of thing, and are familiar with the classic story. But don’t expect anything too deep. Rated U which seems about right - the violence is slap-stick, it's obvious nobody is hurt, and I don't recall any bad language. 

Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews

The Dog who Saved Christmas (Gary Valentine)

(Amazon UK link)

We like watching Christmas films at this time of year, even if most of them are rather predictable and schmaltzy. I acquired several new Christmas films (new to us, that is) at charity shops last year, and last night we decided to watch ‘The dog that saved Christmas’. We had already seen a trailer for this on the film we watched last week (‘The Christmas proposal’) so had a good idea what to expect…

The film is mainly set in the large and luxurious home of the Bannister family. George (Gary Valentine) is the likeable, genial father who is married to Belinda (Elisa Donovan). They have a teenage son Ben (Charlie Stewart) and a daughter who must be about eight, Cara (Sierra McCormick). Cara is still a firm believer in Santa Claus, and the main part of the film opens with George and Belinda trying to secrete a large number of parcels upstairs without the children noticing. 

It sets the scene for a well choreographed light-weight film with a clear Christmas theme. Belinda is the practical one of the family, and she is concerned about their lack of security. The children want a dog, as does George… and when he goes to the pound, his choice falls on Zeus, a golden labrador who was previously a police dog. Zeus, he is told, is very clever. However he appears to be unable to bark. 

Belinda is not happy at the dog’s arrival, and even less so when she discovers his lack of barking. We hear Zeus’s thoughts narrated through the film by Mario Lopez; he’s a very loving dog, and means well, but his enthusiasm sometimes gets him into trouble. This happens several times, leading Belinda to insist that he be returned to the pound, so they can have a dog who is better at deterring burglars.

It’s no surprise that, when the family go to visit Grandma (Mindy Sterling), two rather bumbling burglars attempt to break in. Zeus takes action against them and there’s a lot of chaos - and some mild tension - as well as a fair bit of humour before the inevitable happens. 

The title of the film is a spoiler and it was all rather predictable, but we thought it very well done, if caricatured. Slapstick isn’t our favourite form of comedy, but when it happens it’s appropriate, and I found myself smiling several times. Zeus’s actions are far more intelligent and anthropomorphised than would be possible for a dog, but they add to the amusement. 

There’s a cameo role from a neighbour, reputed to hate dogs (Adrienne Barbeau) and a low-key message about not judging people (or dogs) based on rumours or appearance.  There are carols in the background (or foreground, once or twice) and the whole thing is entirely suitable for all the family. Ideal for curling up on a cold day with blankets and hot drinks. 

After the film there are a few brief outtakes, mostly involving characters unable to stop laughing. The only 'extra', other than a trailer, is a brief cameo showing Mario Lopez doing the voice of Zeus. 

Recommended, if you like predictable, slushy but overall uplifting Christmas films.  Apparently there are several others featuring the same family, and they can sometimes be bought as boxed sets. But I think just this one is enough for us. 

Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews